over the fence
The phrase "over the fence" can be used both literally and figuratively, with meanings ranging from physical movement to metaphorical and business contexts.
Definition
A2General
(literal)Moving from one side of a barrier to the other, often by jumping or climbing.
Example
- The cat jumped over the fence to get into the garden.
- He threw the ball over the fence into the neighbor's yard.
B2Australian and New Zealand
(idiomatic, informal)Describing something as unreasonable or unfair.
Example
- Her request was over the fence, so we couldn't approve it.
C1Business
(metaphorical, project management)Passing a task or responsibility to someone else without proper communication or coordination.
Example
- They threw the problem over the fence to the design team without explaining the requirements.
B2General
(metaphorical)Taking a bold step or challenging the status quo.
Example
- Throw the ball over the fence and follow it!
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "over the fence":
fence hopperon the fenceover the topsee-through fencefence infenced inpicket fencestep overover the transomcross the lineout of boundsup the poleover the headon the hopget up the yardbehind the wireabove grassthrow over